In response to divisions in the church...

It's quite obvious throughout scripture that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). I agree with you that the creation of denominations has divided the body of Christ. Even David had stated "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!...for there the LORD commanded the blessing-life forevermore" (Psalm 133:1,3). How can our faith in Jesus Christ possibly ever be divisive? He Himself said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Maybe this is the reason for the dying of the evangelical church in America today. We're so caught up in the add-ons of faith, that I am sure if Jesus were to step down from heaven back onto earth He would have a talk with the leaders of the churches. Now I'm not saying at all that what they are teaching is not good, but what is needed?The name escapes me, but there was a preacher in the United Kingdom several decades (and possibly centuries, forgive me I'm not sure), who, every Sunday would preach the gospel message. Every Sunday. There was a woman who came up to him and asked him when he was going to move on to other things. He replied saying something to the effect that once everyone understood it, then he would move on. He never did. Why? Because he, like Paul, chose to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.Complete belief, from the heart, mind, and soul that God sent His precious Son Jesus Christ (who is also God) to the world to stand in our place for judgment against our sins and pay the penalty on the cross, and that He died, was buried, and rose again in victory, signaling God's acceptance of that payment is the one and only way to Heaven. There is nothing that needs to be added like you said. Baptism is an outward symbol of that faith, or trust and belief in Him, but it is NOT required for salvation. Communion is a good way to remind ourselves of the payment of Christ's body and blood for us, but it also is no way that we can be saved. In fact we are commanded to not take part of it if there is any unforgiveness or issues still within our heart at the time.So yes, when we accept Christ as the Lord of our life, which means that He is now the one we live for, we have put off the old man and put on Christ, and "for me to live is Christ..." (Philippians 1:21), we are completely forgiven. We may still fall and screw up. Why? Because we are still human! So when churches look at each other and say "Oh well they have such and such wrong" they need to take that plank out of their eyes and realize that sure, they may be wrong, but what is their purpose for judging? Is it to edify the body of Christ? I hate to say it, but I highly doubt it. It's somewhat a source of pride to say that we are a bit more correct than another church.I like to think of it this way...church wise and for ourselves. The Holy Spirit, whom we receive as a seal of our salvation the moment we receive Christ as our Savior, works on us one piece at a time. It's like the refining process of gold. Each time it is put through the fire, a few more impurities arise and can be skimmed off, and more and more come out as the temperature rises. In the same way as God puts us through a refining process, He works on us one issue at a time, because He knows we wouldn't be able to go through it all right away. So in my case, let's say He worked on my ability to forgive my parents for mistakes they had made, and allowed me to see them in a different light. Once we worked on that (and it comes up every once in a while again) then He's moved me on to truly surrendering my life and my plans and my future to Him. It's no longer a list that I've created where I ask Him to sign the line for my plans, it's a blank sheet of paper that He hands to me and asks me to sign it. I need to sign it and know that whatever He puts on that paper after I sign it will be to His glory, and what greater joy can I have but to be able to bring my Savior and my God glory? Proverbs 16:9 says “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.”How willing are we to surrender the control to the One who knows exactly what is going to happen and knows us better than we even know ourselves?So back to my point, and it is that God works on different areas of a church at different times. So what if a church has something in its doctrine a bit different than the one someone else is a part of? As long as they do not distort the truth of the gospel and that being the only way to salvation, then they are forgiven. If they start preaching that new believers need to add on this and that, then I would like to say “Have you read Galatians?” If you don’t understand it after that, then why is it that you believe what you believe? Can you truly say that Christ coming down to earth and dying was not enough? We need to stop focusing on all the add-ons, and center our eyes on the doctrine of Jesus Christ, of true salvation. I do not identify myself with any particular denomination, because I feel that there is no need. I agree with you Angelina, my life is no longer my own, but I am living it for Christ Jesus. So after I have written an extremely long post I would like to close with this passage from Ephesians 4. (my emphasis added)“I…beseech you to walk worth of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is ONE body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. …And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the UNITY of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man, to measure the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with EVERY wind of doctrine, by the TRICKERY of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but speaking the TRUTH in LOVE, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-CHRIST.”

All I needed was Your love

So I warned you it would not be everyday that I would write, but I have a little bit of time tonight before I read some more. This week has pretty much flown by. Classes seem so simple, yet there is so much preparation that needs to be done, and to be honest I have no idea how I end up getting it all done. Recently I've been annoyed with myself because I sleep in until 8 or 8:30, regardless of my alarm which goes off 6 times from 7 until 7:25. What is wrong with me? Well I know it doesn't help that I don't go to sleep until midnight or later, but hopefully tonight I won't be up too late. Last night I led our girls' small group on Galatians 2:15-21. I was awkward at first but near the end I just had to close my laptop and let the Spirit speak through me instead of relying on what I had written up all before.
My parents right now are in Fredericksburg, and I really wish I was there so I could see my best friend, but "I have learned to be content in all circumstances". They're heading down to Hilton Head Island, which I miss a lot. Last time I was there was 2006 with Abbie and we had gone on a bike ride and had so much fun. But enough for reminiscing, at least for now.
I think I've decided what I want to do here on this blog. I am going to go through Ephesians. Yes, it will take me a long time, but my goal is by the end of either next semester or this year (depending on my timeline for classes) to have memorized the entire book. Currently I have the first chapter finished, but I have not gone over it in a while so I may have forgotten some of it. Therefore, I am going to start at the very beginning. I'm going to actually do two verses today, so that I will have the same verse as date, at least until the 23rd of this month, meaning I will need to blog everyday, so that is my incentive.
Ephesians 1:1-2"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
This of course is a letter to the church in Ephesus, written by Paul. He establishes his authority of being an apostle of Jesus Christ, and not by his own will, but by that of God the Father. The greek word for apostle literally means "one sent", and Paul no doubt was sent by Jesus Christ when He appeared to Paul on his journey to Damascus, transforming his life completely. The saints in Ephesus were those who had heard the gospel and were faithful in the Lord. Their lives reflected the salvation they had received in Christ, which we will be able to see later in the book. Something I find so fascinating is that the people in Ephesus were Gentiles, or non-Jews, those of the "sinners". That's who I am. I am a Gentile since I am not born (to my knowledge) of Jewish descent. I cannot cease to praise the Lord for sending Paul to the Gentiles to preach the good news. Beforehand we were in trouble, because it was the Jews who were the chosen people, but in Paul's letter to the Galatians he states in 2:7 "But on the contrary when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter" (uncircumcised=Gentile, circumcised=Jew). I'll get to that at some point eventually, but He truly does work all things together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Do we realize that God the Father daily gives us grace, that divine adequacy that we by no means could ever deserve, and therefore we can have that peace, or consciousness of that grace. Do I realize how much it cost Him? No. To be honest, I don't think I will ever fully comprehend the extent of His grace, probably because I don't always realize how bad off I and everyone else really are. I cannot help but embrace the grace that He has given, and rest in assurance knowing that He is enough, He is sufficient, He is all that is worth living for.
My heart so often is not in the right place, so I am hoping that really going through this book will set my focus on Christ daily. I need Him more than I can fathom. And like the footprints poem, in my hardest times, I may not even realize that He is actually the One carrying me. My true Love, the One who will never ever fail me. He will never break my heart, He will never say anything to destroy me; yes, He will bring to surface impurities and dirt, but it's because He loves me and wants me to become more like Him. He will send me through the fire, but He will never leave me nor forsake me. I have been hurt by others, but the way I have reacted, the way I am now is because of Him working in me and molding me into the woman that He wants to be. I need to daily die to myself that He might live through me. He has a plan for me, just like He had for Paul. What that is, I do not know, and if He told me I doubt that I would want to go through with it. So for now, I will just be faithful, as the saints in Ephesus were faithful. He'll let me know what I need to know, precisely when I need to know it. There is no need to rush through or try to manipulate situations for my sake.
So as I am writing this, I had an idea...just to post prayer requests to remind me to pray for things in my life, and also remember when I started praying for things to see how God moves, and how He will! If you have time do pray for me, you will always know what I am in need of prayer for, and as each is answered, I will move it into praises.
Praises:He has drawn me close to HimHis death and resurrection was more than enoughProvision of finances for this year at schoolContinued health
Prayer Requests:My parents need to sell their property in VirginiaMy sister's decision about collegeReligion paper and Culture of Spain presentation for next weekWisdom in time managementAbility to wake up with the Lord earlier than it has beenMy future husband, wherever he is, that he would be seeking the Lord with his whole heartDecision in whether or not to commit to sponsoring a child overseasDecision about what to do once I graduate
Perpetual:I would look more like Him dailyI would be a witness for HimI would use the talents that He's given me